ARCHIVED - Irregular migrants reaching Spain by sea up by 50 per cent so far this year

The total of 13,000 does not include the 10,000 who entered Ceuta overland in a mass crossing this May

The second year of the coronavirus pandemic has so far coincided with a sharp increase in the number of unauthorized migrants reaching Spanish and EU territory from northern Africa, with the latest Ministry of the Interior data reporting a total of 13,483 in the first six months of 2021 following a rise of 57.7 per cent.

What’s more, these figures do not include the 10,000 or so who entered the north African enclave of Ceuta in May after bypassing the border fences via the beach and the sea. This is because they related only to those reaching Spain by boat, as most of the figures for land crossings are still being compiled.

For this reason, the government reports that 93.6 per cent of all known illegal entries into the country were by sea, with over half of them (6,952) arriving in the Canary Islands after Atlantic crossings from north-west Africa. This represents and increase of over 150 per cent from the equivalent period in 2020, when 2,706 unauthorized migrants reached the islands.

In relation to the Mediterranean route heading for the Spanish mainland and the Balearics the increase has been less spectacular but the total is still 20.8 per cent higher than at this point last year, having reached 5,431.

At the same time, those arriving by sea in Ceuta number 239 as opposed to the 50 reported in the first half of 2020, while in Melilla successful sea crossings have so far not been reported this year.

Last week it was revealed that more than 2,000 migrants have died or gone missing whilst trying to reach Spain so far this year.